Erika Manson
Erika Manson, also known as Marionette, is a convicted criminal and former costumed villain. History Pre-Series Erika Manson and her father immigrated to the United States and opened up a puppet store right across Maez Glass. This is where she met Marco Maez after impressing him with her father's store. They would later on become great friends, while Marco's stepfather believed her to be a bad influence. Erika would then get in a fight with three bullies who called her father a pedophile and before they could hurt her any further, Marco threw glass bottles at the two boy's heads. His mother would then be killed later on by two crooked cops who pushed her down a fire escape but made it seem like it was an accident. The two officers would then arrive at the puppet store and upon seeing them, Marco ran back to Maez Glass. Erika's father would then hand Officer White a leprechaun puppet to him as a gift for his "daughter". They left pleased with their gift. During the whole time, Erika was suspicious about the whole thing. Later on, after Erika's father completed a puppet for Erika to give to Marco, the cops came back angry at Erika's father for not giving them the puppet with their cut. After he refused he is punched in the face which causes Erika to scream in terror. Officer White then grabs Erika and threatens to give her to their boss if he doesn't tell her which doll the money's in. After her father tells them that it's in the Nite Owl doll, they let go of Erika and she and her father hug each other as the cops leave telling them that as long as their breathing, they work for them. Erika then tells Marco about it the next day and tries to convince Marco how they should help her dad, but he's reluctant to do so. Erika then walks into her father's store and see his dead body hanging from a noose. Hugging her father's corpse, the two cops show up to take their payment but are shocked by what's happened. Erika grabs a pair of scissors from a box near her and stabs an officer in the neck. As the other one is about to shoot her, Marco runs at him and bites his hand, making him drop his gun. Before he can hurt him Erika jumps on him and wraps string around his neck and strangles him to death. They both run away together and live off on the streets for years stealing food. They would then become the costumed criminals' Mime and Marionette active at some point prior to 1985. During her career as a costumed villain, she encountered Rorschach, who threatened to toss her down an elevator shaft if they ever saw each other again. Arrest Their last heist was at a bank one mile from Empire State Plaza. Manson and Maez entered the bank early on Wednesday morning, putting on an extravagant display for the cameras while they held up the bank. When Mime noticed a teller, Julia, signal for the police, the duo focused on her. Marionette used a photo of her son on the desk and thinly-veiled threats to intimidate her into revealing the identity of Mr. Mangold, the man who could open the bank's vault. When Mangold tried to bluff, saying that the vault opened on a timer, Julia was once again intimidated into revealing the truth. Mangold declared he would fire her, verbally abusing her and her child. Marionette, disgusted by this, did a display of acrobatics and cut off the man's finger. Ironically, the vault opened on a hand scanner, which they now lacked access too. They were interrupted by the arrival of Doctor Manhattan, whose appearance left Marionette in awe. When Mime moved into a standoff with the superhuman, Manhattan prepared to kill him. However, Manson put herself in-between them, and declared that Manhattan would have to kill her first. Recognizing she was pregnant, he lowered his hand and withdrew as the authorities surrounded the couple. Police would later confirm that thirty-seven people had been killed in their crime spree prior to their capture. Doomsday Clock Manson was freed from prison by Rorschach's successor, who required her for a job. She refused to leave, at first due to her distrust of Rorschach, and then because she would not leave her husband. Rorschach II reluctantly freed Mime before taking the duo into New York City to meet with Ozymandias, who recruited them to help him locate Doctor Manhattan. Manson and Maez reapply their costumes while Ozymandias explains to Rorschach that he believes Marionette could be used to remind Doctor Manhattan of who he used to be and help to convince him to return home. The two board the Owlship with Rorschach and Ozymandias and depart just as New York City is destroyed in a nuclear blast. After crash landing in Gotham City, Mime and Marionette are handcuffed by Veidt and Rorschach, who deem them too dangerous to be allowed to roam free. He asks them to wait patiently until they locate Doctor Manhattan, at which point they will let the duo accompany them once again. While Rorschach and Ozymandias go to determine where precisely they have landed, the criminal duo break free and flee. Personality Manson is fiercely protective of her family, defending Mime against even the omnipotent Doctor Manhattan, and brazenly attacking the second Rorschach trying to find the whereabouts of her missing son. While sadistic and ruthless like her husband, she also demonstrates a degree of empathy, as shown when she attacked Mangold on Julia's behalf for verbally abusing both her and her son. Trivia * Marionette is based off a Charlton Comics character, the villain Jewlee, an enemy of Captain Atom and Nightshade, the inspirations for Doctor Manhattan and Silk Spectre, and the wife of Punch, the inspiration for Mime. Navigation Category:Characters Category:Villains Category:Doomsday Clock characters